Peter Weller
| birth_place = Stevens Point, Wisconsin, U.S. | occupation = | alma mater = University of North Texas (B.A.) Syracuse University (M.A.) UCLA (Ph.D) | years_active = 1973–present | spouse = | children = 1 }} Peter Frederick Weller (born June 24, 1947) is an American film and stage actor, television director, and art historian. Weller has appeared in more than 70 films and television series, including RoboCop (1987) and its sequel RoboCop 2 (1990), where he played title character, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013). He has also appeared in such films as Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite (1995), the Oliver Stone-produced The New Age (1994), and David Cronenberg's adaptation of William Burroughs's novel Naked Lunch (1991). Aside from a Saturn Award nomination for his RoboCop role, Weller received an Academy Award nomination for his 1993 short Partners, in which he also acted. In television, he hosted the program Engineering an Empire on the History Channel from 2005 to 2007. He also played Christopher Henderson in the fifth season of 24, Stan Liddy in the fifth season of the Showtime original series Dexter, as well as Charles "Charlie" Barosky in 11 episodes in (Season 6) of Kurt Sutter 's long running Sons of Anarchy. Since 2012, Weller has been involved in the A&E (now Netflix) series Longmire both as a director and an actor. In 2017, Weller appeared on The Last Ship as Dr. Paul Vellek. Early life Weller was born June 24, 1947, in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, the son of Dorothy Jean (née Davidson), a homemaker, and Frederick Bradford Weller, a lawyer, federal judge, and career helicopter pilot for the United States Army. Weller had a "middle-class Catholic" upbringing. As a result of his father's army work, Weller spent many years abroad during his childhood. His family lived in Germany for several years before eventually moving to Texas, where he attended Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio. Education While enrolled at North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas), he played trumpet in one of the campus bands. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and began his acting career after attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In 2004, Weller completed a Master of Arts degree in Roman and Renaissance Art at Syracuse University, and occasionally taught courses in ancient history at the university. In 2007, Weller began a Ph.D. at UCLA, in Italian Renaissance Art History. In October 2013 he filed his dissertation, entitled "Alberti Before Florence: Early Sources Informing Leon Battista Alberti’s De pictura", and was awarded his doctorate in 2014. Career Stage Weller's stage career began in the 1970s with appearances on Broadway in Full Circle, directed by Otto Preminger, and Summer Brave, William Inge's rewrite of his play Picnic. About this time, he became a member of the famed Actors Studio."Movies & TV: Peter Weller". The New York Times. Retrieved May 9, 2012. In December 2006, Weller starred as architect Frank Lloyd Wright at Chicago's Goodman Theatre in Frank's Home, a new play by Richard Nelson. Film Weller appeared in the 1984 film Firstborn with Christopher Collet, where he played the abusive boyfriend of Collet's mother (played by Teri Garr). Weller has appeared in more than 50 films and television series, including turns as the title characters in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, and blockbuster hits RoboCop and RoboCop 2, as well as Star Trek Into Darkness in 2013. He has also appeared in such critically acclaimed films as Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite, the Oliver Stone-produced The New Age and David Cronenberg's movie of William Burroughs's novel Naked Lunch. In 1995, he appeared in Screamers, a science-fiction film based on the short story "Second Variety" by Philip K. Dick and directed by Christian Duguay. Television In a 1977 episode of the television series Lou Grant, he played Oberster SA-Führer Donald Sterner/Stryker, a tragically disillusioned Jewish-American Neo-Nazi leader who later committed suicide off screen with his Colt .45 near the end of the episode when his heritage was discovered. On television, he played the shuttle captain in the short-lived series Odyssey 5 and made guest appearances as Terran supremacist John Frederick Paxton in the Star Trek: Enterprise episodes "Demons", "Terra Prime" and in Fringe as the character Alistair Peck. Weller was a contributor to the History Channel in several productions, credited as "Peter Weller, Syracuse University", where he was an adjunct faculty member. He was later a graduate student in art history at UCLA, focusing on the Italian Renaissance. In 2005, Weller co-starred as the Captain in a made-for-television remake of The Poseidon Adventure. In 2006, Weller joined the cast of 24 as terrorist collaborator Christopher Henderson. Weller received a "cheer" in TV Guide's "Cheers & Jeers" section for his performance. On January 15, 2010, Weller was seen in a teaser trailer for the companion documentary God of War: Unearthing the Legend that was featured in the game God of War III which Weller also hosted. On April 15, 2010, Weller guest-starred in an episode of the science fiction drama Fringe. He also guest-starred on the Showtime original series Dexter, and had a guest appearance in the December 22, 2010 episode of Psych where he played villain "Yin" Since 2012, he is appearing in a recurring role as Lucien Connally on the crime drama television series Longmire. In 2013, he played the part of the villain in the remake of the "Hookman" episode of the original Hawaii Five-O. The part was originally played in 1973 by J. J. Armes. In seasons six and seven of Sons of Anarchy, he plays the ruthless ex-cop Charles Barosky, a boss at the Stockton port and has dealings with the SAMCRO motorcycle club. In 2017, Weller began appearing as Dr. Paul Vellek, a scientist, on The Last Ship. Directing Weller has also directed various projects for television, including episodes of Homicide: Life on the Street, Monk and three episodes of the aforementioned Odyssey 5. He directed a 1997 adaptation of Elmore Leonard's Gold Coast starring David Caruso and Marg Helgenberger after previously starring in a version of Leonard's thriller Cat Chaser. He has directed eleven episodes of the series Sons of Anarchy, two in Season 4, titled "Dorylus" (air date 9/20/11) and "Hands", three in Season 5, titled "Authority Vested", "Toad's Wild Ride" and "Darthy", three in Season 6, titled "One One Six", "Los Fantasmas" and "Aon Rud Pearsanta" and three in Season 7, titled "Some Strange Eruption", "What a Piece of Work Is Man" and "Suits of Woe". He has directed one episode each season of Longmire since 2012. Most recently in 2018, Weller has directed episode 4 of the revamped,CBS drama, “Magnum PI”. Voice acting Weller voiced the character of Bruce Wayne in the two-part 2013 animated adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns , and the titular character in the video game Wilson's Heart. In 2019 he returned to voice Robocop in a series of commercials for KFC. Personal life On June 24, 2006, on his 59th birthday, Weller married his longtime girlfriend, actress Shari Stowe, at the Santa Maria Assunta church in Positano, Italy. Among the guests attending the wedding were Carrie Fisher and Marg Helgenberger. Awards and nominations *(1988) Saturn Award for Best Actor – RoboCop *(1992) Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role – Naked Lunch *(1994) Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film – Partners- Nominated *(2002) Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male – Ivans XTC Filmography Film Television Television series References External links * * * * * * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090429205940/http://www.history.com/engineeringanempire History Channel's Engineering an Empire site] * "RoboCop in Rome!" New York Daily News * "RoboCop, PhD" Wired News * "RoboCop speaks to Detroit" Funny Or Die Category:1947 births Category:Male actors from Wisconsin Category:Alamo Heights High School alumni Category:American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni Category:American male film actors Category:American male television actors Category:American television directors Category:Living people Category:Military brats Category:Male actors from San Antonio Category:People from Stevens Point, Wisconsin Category:Syracuse University alumni Category:University of North Texas alumni Category:20th-century American male actors Category:21st-century American male actors Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni